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FYI Solar 101 - A General Guide to Solar in your RV or Motorhome

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Hi Kevin, I am not sure where you found those numbers, but they do not reflect generally accepted values for LA batteries. I have never seen anyone claim 80% soc as a cycle nor that LA batteries only have 365 cycles before they are exhausted….

 
Hi Kevin, I am not sure where you found those numbers, but they do not reflect generally accepted values for LA batteries. I have never seen anyone claim 80% soc as a cycle nor that LA batteries only have 365 cycles before they are exhausted….

I think it came from batteryuniversity but couldn't find it. However I can support my claim with data that shows typical cycle life.

Cycles vs Lifespan

A battery "cycle" is one complete discharge and recharge cycle. It is usually considered to be discharging from 100% to 20%, and then back to 100%. However, there are often ratings for other depth of discharge cycles, the most common ones are 10%, 20%, and 50%. You have to be careful when looking at ratings that list how many cycles a battery is rated for unless it also states how far down it is being discharged. For example, one of the widely advertised telephone type (float service) batteries have been advertised as having a 20-year life. If you look at the fine print, it has that rating only at 5% DOD - it is much less when used in an application where they are cycled deeper on a regular basis. Those same batteries are rated at less than 5 years if cycled to 50%. For example, most golf cart batteries are rated for about 550 cycles to 50% discharge - which equates to about 2 years.

How depth of discharge affects cycle life on batteriesBattery life is directly related to how deep the battery is cycled each time. If a battery is discharged to 50% every day, it will last about twice as long as if it is cycled to 80% DOD. If cycled only 10% DOD, it will last about 5 times as long as one cycled to 50%. Obviously, there are some practical limitations on this - you don't usually want to have a 5 ton pile of batteries sitting there just to reduce the DOD. The most practical number to use is 50% DOD on a regular basis. This does NOT mean you cannot go to 80% once in a while. It's just that when designing a system when you have some idea of the loads, you should figure on an average DOD of around 50% for the best storage vs cost factor. Also, there is an upper limit - a battery that is continually cycled 5% or less will usually not last as long as one cycled down 10%. This happens because at very shallow cycles, the Lead Dioxide tends to build up in clumps on the the positive plates rather in an even film. The graph above shows how lifespan is affected by depth of discharge. The chart is for a Concorde Lifeline battery, but all lead-acid batteries will be similar in the shape of the curve, although the number of cycles will vary
1680453619429850539876597457573.jpg


The Northstar blue+ is my battery of choice...
 
Ok. You are talking DOD while I was talking SOC, which have opposite values….
 
Update: I found an ME-ARC and will swap it out when it arrives.

I've decided to purchase most all components for my system from A.M.Solar. The only component I will acquire myself is the Cyrix battery combiner. What I need to know from either Neal or Rich or anyone else is what is the alternator rating? I need this prior to purchasing the unit. Is it 120A or 230A? My coach is a 2017 Ventana 3709 with a Cummins 360.

Victron Cyrix Battery Combiner

Victron Cyrix battery combiners connect your house battery bank to your starter battery and alternator to allow alternator charging. Additionally, when a charge is applied to a house battery bank the Cyrix will close and allow current to flow to the starter battery. Select an appropriate Cyrix based on your house battery type and alternator current rating.

Alternator 160A or less - 120A Cyrix
Alternator more than 160A - 230A Cyrix
 
My remote is the ARC50, which is different (it is an upgraded version with more controls and features). It is an easy upgrade (unplug old one, plug new one in). If you are going to boondock, this would be a good upgrade as It allows you to use the Magnum BMK (battery monitoring kit) which allows you to see what your battery bank SOC (state of charge) is. It is critical if you really want to see where you batteries stand - regardless of type.

As far as manufacturer recommendations, yes to both…..but I tend to follow the battery manufacturer as they know best how they batteries perform under various charging scenarios.

Hope this helps.
Hey Rich-- Did your Ventana come with a Magnum BMK like this? Or did you buy it after your went solar?

Magnum Energy ME & MS Series Battery Monitor Kit (ME-BMK)​

 
Newmar does not install a BMK so I needed to install it when I did my solar. Very valuable tool. And you don’t need both the Victron and the magnum BMK shunts, but it is helpful as the magnum will then have an idea of SOC and the Victron will give a nice Bluetooth interface.

As mentioned in my PM, me and Neal have the 240 Leece-Neville alternator.

And do you need the battery combiner? As your rig has a BIM, which can be swapped out for a Li-BIM. It allows for charging of both battery banks via shore power or alternator….
 
Is this what Neal referred to as being tricky to hookup? And I assume I can buy an Li BIM on Amazon?
 
Is this what Neal referred to as being tricky to hookup? And I assume I can buy an Li BIM on Amazon?
A Li-BIM is pretty easy....as you just swap it out with the regular BIM that came with your rig. It is located in the back of your external electrical compartment (usually). You can get them from several places...even BattleBorn sells them.

Rich
 
I found the Li BIM and the ME-BMK. Li BIM is below.


Thanks for your help!

Laurent
 

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Btw. This is what the old one looks like…
 

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Thanks!! Where exactly is this on your coach?
You told me already, sorry. I just read your prior post. I also see now why you appeared to install the Li upside-down. So it would match the battery leads from the old one.
 
You told me already, sorry. I just read your prior post. I also see now why you appeared to install the Li upside-down. So it would match the battery leads from the old one.
Exactly!
 
Looks like your ignition wire got changed from pink to black?
 

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